Burning Alone
by Mika Casey
Summary: You could be a barn owl, or a wolf, or even a hagsfiend. Twilight/Gylfie oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** The Guardians (c) Kathryn Lasky. The lyrics are from the song "Whispers in the Dark" by Skillet.

**Author's Note:** Maybe I read too much...anyway, the Guardians of Ga'Hoole movie is coming out, so I've been rereading the books and think Twilight and Gylfie are perfect for each other, but they're not the same species. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!

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**Burning Alone **by Mika Casey

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_**No, you'll never be alone.**_  
_**When darkness comes,**_  
_**I'll light the night with stars**_  
_**Hear my whispers in the dark. **_

At first black, Gylfie was the only owl still in her nest in the Great Ga'Hoole tree. She was huddled up with her feathers fluffed out and her eyes staring out into the hollow. She knew she had a mentoring session with some new owlets who were interested in the navigation chaw when the moon was at its highest, but she didn't want to get out of her nest just yet. She had some thinking to do.

Just the day before, Soren's mate Pellimore had unwittingly put Gylfie into an uncomfortable situation. She had been babbling on about how adorable her three daughters; Bell, Bash, and Blythe; were. They were still barely hatchlings, and they were going through most of their "first" ceremonies. In the midst of her cooing, Pelli had been able to ask the dreaded question to the elf owl: _Why don't you have a mate, Gylfie?_

_Because the owl I love isn't an elf owl!_ She wanted to call it out as loud as she could to the whole tree, but she could say nothing. Taking a mate from another species of owl was taboo because they couldn't have chicks, so Gylfie had vowed to never tell him and save them both the embarrassment. And she wasn't even sure if this owl returned her feelings.

"Gylfie?" A voice from the entrance to the hollow startled her. She twisted her head to see a large gray owl standing there, blinking at her with a concerned look in his bright yellow eyes. The great gray had handsome white and dark feathers down his front, and large, powerful wings that could carry him so expertly when he flew.

The elf owl averted her own amber eyes. "Hello, Twilight." She shifted her small dark wings slightly, a sign that she suddenly felt uncomfortable with Twilight's presence, and he sensed that.

A bit of anger was added to his hoot. "Gylfie, I can't stand this!"

Shocked and a bit frightened, Gylfie once again looked up at the large great gray. He'd crossed the hollow to her nest and seemed to loom over her like he had just emerged from one of her nightmares. "Can't stand what?"

"You being alone."

All she could say was. "Oh."

His voice became a little strained, like he was trying to hold some emotion behind his anger. "You've been brooding for weeks, and it's worse since your conversation with Pelli yesterday." Glyfie cringed and Twilight continued. "You spent more and more time in the hollow by yourself, curled up pathetically in your nest. By Glaux, what is wrong?"

And then, Glyfie decided that she had had enough. "Do you want to know what is _wrong_, Twilight? You're rude to me, and inconsiderate, and you have absolutely no passion for anything except fighting and shiny battle claws. And I can't take a mate! I know you're going to say that there are plenty of fine elf owls in this tree, so why don't I just pick one? I _can't_. Do you want to know why? You're not an elf owl. And I love_ you_."

She hadn't intended to tell Twilight that she loved him, it just slipped out. But she did not regret it. She felt a lifetime of anger and sorrow had been lifted off her small chest. Twilight was silent. He blinked, momentarily breaking the sizzling contact their gazes were making. "Glyfie..." He churred softly. The anger was vanquished from his tone.

"I don't want to hear it!" She screeched. She didn't want to know that he didn't love her, and that she was an idiot for falling in love outside of her own species.

Her breath hitched in her gizzard when Twilight moved to be next to her and draped one of his large wings over her shoulder. "Alright, I won't say anything." He nuzzled the feathers on top of her head with his beak.

This was probably the most gently Gylfie had seen Twilight act. "Wh-what?"

"Do you think I give a mouse-tail about what other owls think?" Twilight asked Glyfie warmly. "I'm glad you told me, Gylfie. I love you too. I didn't want to tell you because you are always so by-the-book, and following the rules. Why ruin your life because of my feelings?" His voice cracked a little.

That has been almost exactly Gylfie's reasoning. She snuggled closer to Twilight, but fear rose in her gizzard. "Twilight, you know I can't give you chicks, right? We're not the same species." She hooted sadly.

"I don't care, Gylfie. You could be a barn owl, or a wolf, or even a hagsfiend. I don't care, because if we love each other, does it really matter what species we are?" He inquired.

Gylfie fluffed out her feathers. "Of course not!" She looked up into his round yellow eyes happily, and saw delight in his gaze as well. She knew in her gizzard that this was meant to be. Gylfie and Twilight. Twilight and Gylfie. Together until the end.

"Come on, Gylfie!" Twilight hooted proudly. "You're mine, and I want to tell the whole tree!" He left her side and rushed out of the hollow in a flurry of gray and white feathers. And Gylfie followed him, no longer ashamed of the love that burned uncontrollably in her heart.

_**No, you'll never be alone.**_  
_**When darkness comes  
You know**__** I'm never far:**_  
_**Hear my whispers in the dark.**_


End file.
